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Inside Out #WritePhoto

“Excuse me. Are you part of the tour?” He asked. “I seem to have lost my way. Would you mind directing me?”

She didn’t move. “What is your name?”

“Sorry,” he extended his hand, “I’m Kenneth.”

“The rain speaks to us, Kenneth. It sends messages from the clouds when they have become too full of thoughts.” She leaned her forehead against a pane. “Kenneth. Kenny. Ken.”

“Yes, erm, right.” He dropped his hand. “Do you happen to know which of these doors might be an exit?”

She dipped her third finger in a bit of water that had leaked inside and pooled in the corner of the stone sill. “I knew it began with a ‘k’. A bit of wisdom from the rainwater, Kenneth. You want to return to your family? Any door in this room apart from that one.” She pointed over her shoulder to a promising-looking modern door with fresh paint.

“That one it is,” he mumbled. “Thank you.”

“The rainwater has warned you, Kenneth.”

“Right. Again, thank you.” He shook his head and walked through the door.

“They never listen to the rain,” she sighed, hearing Kenneth’s screams.

I’ve combined two prompts again this week (unsuccessfully):

#writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent which asks writers to use photos for inspiration (the photo above is this week’s prompt)

27 thoughts on “Inside Out #WritePhoto”

Intriguing story, Sarah. I wonder why Kenneth didn’t listen, why he didn’t heed the advice. He asked. Why did he think it more important to disbelieve, rather than believe, the advice? It would be interesting to read the story told in 99 words. How would it translate?

Ooh…I’m not sure how it would work in 99 words. I tried but this is one of the few times it just wasn’t working. I’m thinking he got creeped out by her a bit and figured he’d do whatever she said not to. Safest way to go and all that. (Clearly, he was wrong.) 😉

Ken was all superficialities. Any woman standing around had to be there to be useful, whatever she said that didn’t come up to his expectations had to be wrong, and anything modern-looking had to be of more use than something old. Wrong on every count, Ken.

Yes, yes, and yes. Love this assessment, Jane. Notice how he doesn’t wait for a response to the first inquiry (even before he gets a bit weirded out). And, yes, a modern door must be better than anything original to the building.